Keeper of the Lost Cities #7: Flashback by Shannon Messenger

My name is Fitz, and I'm irate the Council is sparing my brother's life. Alvar says he can't remember his despicable crimes, and he's going to be allowed to serve his sentence at Everglen! The Neverseen are always one step ahead of us, but Gethen says this isn't part of their plans. Sophie and I are frustrated that we're forced to lay in bed, while we recover from echoes resulting from a Shadow attack. Emotions cause them to flare up and undo our healing. We've decided that we must learn to fight back even though elves aren't used to violence. However, the Neverseen have no problem hurting and killing us. And as if these problems aren't enough, we're sure the alicorns need help. Five kingdoms of intelligent creatures are uniting for the first, but it seems like we're always missing something when it comes to the Neverseen. 

This series is very entertaining if you're ready for a lot of reading. This book lacked the adventure and action of the first six books, at least until the plot arrived at the climax. Sophie and Fitz were injured and were under medical care for most of the first half of the plot. Other characters were off doing things, while Sophie was confined to bed rest, dealing with internal struggles/scars. It was hard to describe much action and drama, while the main character was stuck in one room. At least Sophie's love life became clearer. She also gained a few more bodyguards, but the pattern has become tiresome. Her defenders have always said she shouldn't leave without them, but she ends up doing just that. Also, the defenders have said they'll be ready for the Neverseen next time, but they never are. It's become annoying, since nothing has changed. I would expect Sophie and her friends to have learned from past mistakes. Overall, I'm still enjoying the series, but I hope the next book shows Sophie becoming more intelligent and the elves making progress toward stopping the Neverseen. The rebels have clearly been out-thinking the elves, and it would be nice to get a sense the elves might be able to stop them.